John Templeton

Buy at the Point of Maximum Pessimism. 1912 to 2008.

Who he was

In 1939, with war breaking out in Europe, John Templeton borrowed $10,000 and bought 100 shares of every US stock trading under $1. Most were near bankruptcy.

Four years later he had quadrupled his money. He went on to found the Templeton Growth Fund in 1954.

The compounding lesson

The Templeton Growth Fund compounded at about 15% a year for nearly four decades. $10,000 invested at launch became over $2 million.

He searched the whole world for bargains when most Americans only looked at home.

How he thought

He said bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria. He bought when others were fearful.

He was also famously frugal and gave much of his fortune to philanthropy. He was knighted in 1987.

What to copy

Look where others are not looking. Buy quality when it is unpopular.

And then hold. Templeton held his bargains for years, not months.